Brown or Stanford? Safe or Sorry?

Don’t think that only the “best of the best” get into Stanford. The best of the best get rejected, too. Everyone gets rejected. So I’d say that you have as much of a shot at Stanford as just about anyone, except your quants do look kinda low. Basically, if you’re applying EA… think about it. Would Stanford set aside your application? Do you stand out? Especially because you’re in CS (and from Texas)… Do you have something beyond participating in/being the captain of a team? You can still get in without these things, but if you’re risking ED at Brown (I don’t know if Brown values ED applicants as much as, say, UPenn), I’d play it a little safe.

However, if you don’t think you want to go to Brown… don’t apply ED to Brown. Better safe than sorry. Fact is, if you’re not qualified, you won’t get in ED or RD. If you are, you have a SLIGHTLY better chance ED/EA, but it’s not significant. Personally, I’d go ED to Brown as long as I genuinely liked the university.

If you know that you’ll be thinking “what if”, don’t do it. Despite the hysteria that tends to show through around this time of year, almost everyone ends up at a college they love. I know people who went to their safeties, and they love it.

In the end, it’s more about what you do at college than where you go. If you think Brown would be a good fit, apply to Brown. If you really need to know, apply to Stanford. The only wrong decision would be applying to Brown and thinking “what if”

This is an easy decision. You want to go to Stanford. So apply to Stanford.